Ok all points that are relevant to refs / players from this years meeting should be included below. At some point I intend on sorting out a document/page for snitch refs as that is one of the most awkward areas. That said we do assume that people only agree to be official snitch refs after they feel competent with it, not before

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On game day line-ups must be submitted to the ref by 8.55pm latest. Be there before this so your captain knows they can include you on the list! The game will start by 9.05pm HOL latest.

Quaffle break is now three minutes not two. This should be stuck to fairly accurately.

One letter rule still does not apply to numbers. One letter rule does not apply to one-word answers. If there is a hyphen your answer counts as two words. Numbers are included in the word count (eg '7 feet' is a two word answer). If you type 'the kithcen' this is also a two word answer.

One letter words must be exact if they are an initial / abbreviation etc - this applies no matter how many words are in the answer. Spacing issues are still fine though (ie usual one letter rule applies). For example with the OWL grades:O e a p d t (correct)O ea p d t (correct, only one spacing issue)O e s p d t (incorrect as s is not a grade)Oeap d t (incorrect as multiple spacing issues)

Any issues with the edited set (books six and seven edits to come at a later edit) should be directed to QB/QC via your captains.

------Snitch reffing

Quidditch 2008 reffing program is not to be used in official games.

The order of teams matters in snitch. Refer to the official schedule to check iif itâ€™s GQT vs RQT or RQT vs GQT. The team listed FIRST should start in â€œredâ€ position (bottom left - 0,12), second should start in â€œblueâ€ position (top right - 12,0).

New snitch grid guidelines below - everyone said this seems sensible enough just to help newer refs out etc.

In general grids should be â€œbalancedâ€ with clues/WFs/bludgers all spaced around the board so as not to skew it to be advantageous to one seeker or the other. Guidelines: no WFs/bludgers in the starting corners (3x3 grid); no clues within quick reach the start for either seeker. Suggested - no clue squares should touch one another (including diagonally) and there should be no more than 2 clues in any 6 square area (this could be a 6x1 line or 2x3 rectangle). Obviously common sense should prevail in most cases and if â€œbreakingâ€ a rule still leaves a balanced grid thatâ€™s fine.

Time between moves should be 15-20 seconds at most - if someone is constantly taking longer than this the ref should prod them to hurry along. If there are major issues / consistent offenders, QB should be informed after the game.

Logic puzzle answers should be submitted in full, not abbreviations.

Snitch games cannot be rescheduled in advance and can only be rescheduled in exceptional circumstances - details on this to follow. This will include what happens if a seeker pings out.

Thanks to Dario for providing me with the shiny butterflies for my sig/av ^^

Summary - all points that are relevant to refs / players from this years meeting are be included below.

Q-set:QB intends to edit and update the QSET to correct those question/answers from books 1-5 and the question/answers from books 6 and 7. ****Quidditch continues! Not that there was really much doubt that it would, but ... well ... hmm. After some discussion in QB and looking at notes and more discussion:

[We, QB, had heard folks saying they wished that Quidditch was more fun (or saying that it was not fun.) The main issue seemed to be points piling up through the whole game for one team and perhaps squashing the other team - and making Qudditch a non-fun sport for several players, so we're trying something new. There were several options discussed in the meeting, a version of this was decided on in the Captains/QB meeting and then fine-tuned by QB.]

Quaffle Points Difference:Basically it is a 250-point differential, period. Quaffle will (or at least can) stop when it reaches that point. If the team in the lead catches the snitch, the Seeker gets credit for the snitch, but the 50 points will not affect the score if there is already a 250 point difference. The same goes if the team not in the lead gets the Snitch. Credit is given to the Seeker, but no points are counted for the Snitch.***After the end of first half of season of play, we can look at this again and discuss options.

Summary - all points that are relevant to refs / players from this years meeting are included below

Discussion of Quaffle Points difference in games tried last year. Decision made to change it because Snitch needs to be recognized, quaffle play needs to be longer and other points. Different possibilities discussed and this is what we'll try this year:

Quidditch is played traditionally. The Snitch is released, Quaffle play starts and continues until the Snitch is caught or time runes out. There is no maximum different of Quaffle points to affect when Quaffle play ends.House points (points submitted for the game by QB) are based on this:Both teams get 100 House points participationWhoever catches snitch gets 50 House pointsWhoever wins the game (considering both snitch and quaffle) gets 250 House pointsTie-game * 100 House points to each teamForfeit of one team/failure to show: 0 points to forfeiting team; 150 points to team that showed (100 for showing up, 50 for snitch)If the top 2 teams end up in a tie at the end of the school year (equal records and beat each other once), a tie-breaker game will be played to determine the winner of the Quidditch Cup.Note: How is the winner of the Quidditch Cup determined? The team who has won the most games at the end of the year wins the Quidditch Cup. If two teams have an identical win-loss record, they will play a tie-breaker game that will determine the winner of the Quidditch Cup. Be aware that game points scored by and against a team will no longer determine a team's ranking, though this may not be reflected in the Quidditch Department.

Question:Can a person ref on a Mac: Cosmo says, "It's complicated, but I think the answer is yes, with some workarounds. I'm pretty sure I got mIRC working on my sister's Mac a year ago or so, but I don't remember if I tried either refbot (I probably didn't, to be honest). However, if people are interested, I could borrow the Mac, give it another try, and then write up a tutorial of sorts."

Note:The Quidditch Reffs post has been edited for clarification of Reff duties and privileges. If you are, or intend to be, a Reff, check out Quidditch Reffs.

*Avatar made by Amy*"You have the inborn natural right to remain silent. Don't think about it, don't talk about it, shuush ....... STILL." ~ Xaris

Summary - all points that are relevant to refs / players from this years meeting are included below

*Discussion of whether to continue the House points for the games as done last year (including the tie-breaker game to be played if the top 2 teams end up in a tie at the end of the school year). Agreement to continue as it was; it worked well. (refer: QB/QC Meeting 9/28/2014 - see above post)

*Game check reminder of Reff/Official before each game. There will be a Topic (so and so is Reffing) in the Banana Cupboard for QB to post in (or the Captain responsible to post in) before each game and, in addition, QB will send a message to the persons who are listed as Reffing, prior to the game.

* If your House is scheduled to Reff -- it is your task to find a Reff.

* Default day and time of House Quidditch matches is Saturday, 9 pm HOL time. If a match needs to be rescheduled, that reschedule can be on any day and at any time, as long as both teams agree AND both a Reff is found and a QB official is available for the new day and time. (Ideally, the team responsible for providing a Reff for that game provides it for the rescheduled time).

* Team Captains check with their team and House for potentials for Reffing. Update list as appropriate.

* Quidditch Board is aware of the need for an updated/comprehensive rules section for Quidditch (and Quidditch part of Handbook). Right now the Handbook isn't accepting edits, but QB is getting together an up-to-date version to post in the Forum (and eventually in the Handbook).

Promotion of Quidditch around HOL:* Scarlet and Cody are continuing NAPs.* #quidpractice continues with Cosmo's bot and will be emphasized more and perhaps will gain another bot (for double botting) and/or there might be open practices in there * #quidditch will be a channel for the HOL Quidditch community

*Topics are posted in the Banana Cupboard for Captains and QB to look into more changes which would hopefully brighten interest in more people to play Quidditch and especially play in House Quidditch games

*Avatar made by Amy*"You have the inborn natural right to remain silent. Don't think about it, don't talk about it, shuush ....... STILL." ~ Xaris